Gibson ES-125

made in 1962. P90. very simple hardware.
no cutaway.

very nice - nearly accoustic - sound with character!! Perfect for jazz!
Not so rich as a realy archtop-guitar, but a little bit more aggressive than a bigger one.
The pickup is sometimes noisy but allways percussive. I like it!!

Very handsome fingerboard!!!
Very simple tuners...
Very nice colour

worked for 40 years. Will work next 40 years, too.

I play for 17 years. I play jazz for about 7 years. After a 335, the 125 is my first real jazzguitar with the percussive, fat sound, I search for. I don't need a cutaway for playing (of course, the 175 looks 100% cooler with it. But who one plays a 125?!).
Now I play her for 2 years. And the love grows every day...

my best guess as to the manufacute date is circa 1950 to 1953.
my es-125 was purchased for the price of $75 bucks and a "beatles a hard days night" pin which was worth about 75 bucks on the collectors market back in 1988.
i just LOVE this axe!!
ive had er for 12 years and it feels like part of my own body.
as a testement to how well built this axe is?.......it was UNDERWATER face down for a week. back in the mid 1960's (when my freinds music store's basement was flooded)it was set to dry for literally 5 years.......then re-assessed as to its salvageability.....a new bridge was fashioined(by the expert guitar maker jerry kippala of ishpeming michigan)aside from that?.......all is original...with the exeption of.....the tuning pegs seem to crumble after a set amount of time......which i replaced with (and the volume and tone knobs)playing dice.very very cool lookin axe.the original case was tossed years ago it was crumbled to dust.
this mans opinion is the es 125 is the PERFECT studio guit fiddle. for anything from blues to metal.just dont take the bugger on the road for live gigs.or youll sound like jimmi hendrix having a nightmare.

1957 no cutaway

Round, large sound. This instrument is usable as a bass with treble/bass pot all the way down.

Volume and tone controls are a bit noisy , but it is 44 yers old.
Tuner plastic cracked apart this summer (2001) and will have to be replaced.

Anyone who has ever played this guitar in a live setting has remarked on the rich sound and ease of playability

I've been performing for 35 years. I played this guitar in a Community Big Band for 10 years. Whenever I hear any recordings made with that group, the guitar always sounds 'right" for the style.

USA made Gibson. Single pick-up with tone and volume control. Bought this guitar in 1968 from a down-and-out hippie in Norway. He was sitting on the lawn of the king's palace crying. He was out of money and asked if I wanted to buy his guitar. How much I asked. $65 he said, including hard case. No problem and in 5 minutes I had a Gibson. Had the guitar for two years and traded it for a Fender Twin Reverb and a Hagstrom six. I was happy then...but sad now. If you're reading this, no more explanations needed.

It was pure a jazz/blues guitar...and I played alot of Dylan, Byrds, and Three Dog Night back then. It was a sweet playing and sounding guitar. Nothing like today's monster axes with all the fancy electronics...hey, back then I did'nt even have a fuzz tone (got that in the trade). Simple controls for a simple sound...full but simple.

Never had a problem here. When I got it, it was set up fine. Controls were a bit noisy, but the guitar was 16 years old by then. Used some TV tuner spray (very carefully) and that made them less noisy.

When I had it, it was a tank. Heavy wood, fairly thich neck...very strong guitar. See comment on noisy controls.

Not an issue

When I bought it I had only been playing for three years. In reality, I did'ny know what I had. Yeah, I knew it was a Gibson, but the piece of history was not an issue. When I got into a band, I needed money for equipment. I got a good deal, but the Fender amp and Hagstom, as good as they were, are long gone. I wish I still had that ES-125. The crazy thing is that the guy who traded with me still has it.

features are the same as John Jacobsen described except, my bridge is original, my tuners had the ivory knobs which crumbled after years of use. I subbed them with something from an old Epi that my cousin sat on accidently. I have the originl case.

the sound is sweet and mellow. my pickup is stll working and only one of the the pots has been replaced. I've never had a problem with the neck.

the action is what is expected. I too wish it had a cutaway. the finish is still very good with few finish cracks.

I had a problem with straps. I took a cloth strap (from the middle 60's),cut off one end,looped a piece of leather under the strings at the head and hand sewed it back onto the strap. It's permenant, I know but it's not in the way and it fits nicely into the case without scratching the guitar. I've had many guitars through the years, this is the only one that stayed with me. Some of the others were Gibsons also.

I would miss this one. I would probably get a 135. (too much info is not good on a public message board)

A pretty fat 1952 jazz guitar, only one pickup (a P90 w/ single volume, tone), and I have no idea what wood was used for the guitar. It's got a vintage sunburst finish and longer scale (I think 25 inches). I bought it second-hand and some changes were made: Grover tuners, a new floating bridge (some think it's a Silvertone) and an old Bigsby tremolo. Also, some work have been done on the body, but it's still in great shape.
8 for features - It's only got one pickup, but it does have some pretty nice tuners and a Bigsby, and a pickguard that just may be real turtle shell

I currently play through an old Ford tube amp, which sounds awesome on low volume settings. When turned up, the amp and guitar combination create a pretty bad buzzing. The hiss was still there when I played the guitar through a new AC-15 and a new DeVille. The pickup has aged, it's true, and so I believe that there would be very few guitars around that could match this baby's. It is a VERY mellow instrument. My meager guitar ability had an impossible time getting any sort of sharp, attacking sound out of this instrument, but I suspect a better guitar player would. I have since lowered the action and with small adjustments of the tone control, I can go from a fat mellow to a little strat snappiness (but only a little). This, however, is not what the guitar should sound like, and soon I will raise the action again and move up to size 13 strings. I play a sort of electric/acoustic lighter music, so the dark tones this guitar produces is perfect for me.
It is not that versatile, however, and does feed back terribly when the stompbox is stomped.
I wish the guitar had a cutway, but I don't miss the bridge pickup at all, not with this guitar's sound.

There's not too much to say for this category: I've tweaked it a fair bit myself, and all of the factory settings have long since been tweaked away by whoever used to own it. The Grovers and the new bridge were pleasant additions, because I'm sure the original components (especially the piece-of-shit inline machines) would be long since gone crappy by now.
I suspect that the pickup could use a little adjustment, but I'm kind of afraid to let anyone open it up for fear of me losing the sound I love so much.

Since this guitar is 47 years old and in amazing shape, I'm going to have to give high marks for it. I only own one guitar, and with playing 4-5 times a week, I've never needed another.

N/A - Second hand - although Gibson was kind enough to identify it for me (Whoopee),

I'm somewhat spoiled, because this is my very first electric guitar and I'll be hard pressed to find a sweeter instrument.
I'd have to say that when I start playing live, I'd probably like a more versatile guitar, one with hotter pickups, but for recording and hanging it up on my wall so I can stare at it, I'll take my ES-125 any day.
A lot of hype is always made about vintage instruments and why they are supposed to be better than today's: I'm not sold on that whole argument, but I do love this guitar dearly. It just feels, looks and sounds so good when it is in your hands.
If it were someday stolen, I'd cry. I'd never be able to replace it, but I'd like to try out an ES-175 or 135, a Epiphone Howard Roberts, or perhaps a PRS Hollowbody (now that's sweet). Hmmm, maybe a Ric 330. It's gotta be hollow.
My rating is a 10 with a *: I'm very biased, I love this guitar and it will always be the one I play the most and record with the most, no doubt. However, I doubt that every guitarist would like this instrument, they'd probably hate it.

Not too many Features, Just one good ol' P-90 pickup, a tone and volume knob,and a pickguard, what more do you need??? Archtop with no cutaway, mine was made in 1952! Sunburst finish, Rosewood fretboard, Kluson tuners (I had to replace, someone stripped them off this guitar before I got it)

I Love the way this thing sounds!!!! The breakup of the P-90 is perfect. After 47 years this guitar still rocks! I play in an (dare I say) Alternative Rock band. My playing style however is more bluesy and this baby fits me perfect! I play threw a Fender Blues Deluxe, with a TS-808 tubescreamer and also use a Boss Blues Driver(on top of the TS-808 for my solos) for a little more push and this guitar screams. It sounds very full. I also have a Guild Starfire III (newer one(1997) and a Fender Start plus with Texas Specials and at times I kinda prefer this old hunk of wood over those guys. I know this was a low end Gibson Archtop but I love the way this thing feels. Good sound ! (Does feedback at times but hey, what do you want it is a hollowbody) Sounds are limited with one pickup but I always use my neck pick up for the most part so I dont miss those other Pickups so much.

The finish is ok, this was a low end Gibson. It has binding and a sunburst. The action is great, very very playable. Pickup sits a little high on the Archtop, At times my Strings hit the cover but hasn't affected my playing yet. This Guitar has alot of finish flaws(i.e. scratches, dings, who cares! This is not a show piece, just play!)

I have played a couple of gigs with this guitar and it did great! The first few were hairy because it kept going out of tune. After I installed the right tuners and had the guitar intonated it has been great. This guitar is also alot happier with heavier strings. It stays in tune better with a wound g string. The finish has lasted prety good for 47 years and I'm sure it will be fine in my lifetime. I installed a strap button on the heel (It didn't have one on the neck end, and I wasn't about to go Cowboy) and the one at the bridge end does like to pop out, my next project! I can now depend on this guitar but will always have a backup. You never know...

Gibson??? Don't know

I have been playing for Ten years or so. I think if this guitar was stolen that I would try to find a replacement, or maybe a ES-175 about as worn, I kinda miss the cutaway when I'm playing it. I really do love the tone of the P-90, it is a great match with this archtop. I think this is an undervalued guitar, its not super pretty with inlays and all that jazz, but it is very playable.